Some parents luck out with a baby who learns to sleep all on their own right through the night early on. Other parents aren’t so lucky, and have to teach their child this skill.
If you don’t you’re really doing your child a disservice as well as yourself. You need your sleep to be able to properly take care of your bundle, and they need their sleep to tackle all the learning and growing they have on their plate!
I have been one of the luckier ones; fortunately, Jaxson has been sleeping through the night since he was about 8 weeks old. I do have a few mommy friends though, who are currently struggling with this issue.
My friend’s 4-month-old wakes up almost every hour throughout the night. He’s not necessarily hungry, but has gotten used to having the constant comfort of having her by his side.
But he has come to the age where it’s time to settle in his crib, and she is using the “Ferber” method to help. This involves picking a bed time and sticking with it.
When the child starts crying…and they will!… you have to let them cry it out on their own. The method tells you to let them cry for 5 minutes. Then you can go into their room and console them – without picking them up. Only stay a short time, even if your baby is still crying.
Leave the room for 10 minutes this time before you go back into console. Then wait 15 minutes, and set that as the maximum for the rest of the night.
The next night you extend those wait periods to begin at 15 minutes and carry on to 20 and 25 minutes.
It is normal for babies to take a while to get used to falling asleep on their own because up until this point they are used to the constant comfort of mommy. But in the end this is the best for your little one because learning to fall asleep independently will teach them to self soothe.
Don’t worry, they’ll never not need you… it is good for them to be able to depend on themselves as well!
Good luck!!
